SARASOTA MUSIC

Kesha and Macklemore Tour Wraps Up at Mid-Florida Amphitheatre in Tampa, FL!

The rain kept coming and the doors opened late for the last show of the Adventures of Kesha & Macklemore tour! That didn’t stop the over 12,000 that came to see one of the most interesting musical tours of the summer! A great combo, Kesha and Macklemore complimented each other very well. Both clearly cut from the same musical cloth, they both bring individuality and unique styles. That was the theme of the night with a widely varied audience from parents and teens to the LGBTQ community. Macklemore reminded everyone that it didn’t matter about your politics, race, sexual orientation, or citizenship - it was about everybody coming together in love and music.

Macklemore is touring behind his 2nd solo album “Gemini” and opened with “Ain’t Gonna Die Tonight” bringing his own palm trees to the Florida stage along with a backyard picnic scene. He had some fun with the crowd spraying them with water and they loved it! Ever the activist, Macklemore has several causes that he gives his support to including the LGBTQ community, White Privilege II, which, along with his collaborator Ryan Lewis, support black community causes. Macklemore is also in recovery and is hosting the first “Above the Noise Foundation’s Recovery Fest 2018” in Rhode Island on September 29th along with Fitz and the Tantrums.

His Tampa set included his huge hit “Thrift Shop” and “Dance Off” which brought Kesha out to the stage for the crowd to go wild! He closed with the chart hit “Glorious”. He said they wanted to close out this tour in Tampa. Good choice, even with the weather! The fans were clearly along for this adventure! Macklemore is entertaining and has developed a solid place in today’s music scene.

It was Kesha’s night all the way! The crowd was in anticipation of her arrival and arrive she did! Making her entrance from a UFO, (her album has a cut called “Spaceship”) she emerged down the staircase in alien headgear and sexy spacesuit! She opened with her strong message “Woman” and letting all the MFer’s know that she is here and she is a MFing woman!! The crowd was on their feet and right with her all the way! Confetti rained down while she strutted and her dancers followed to help her remove headgear and clothing. Donning a purple guitar for “Blah Blah Blah”, she kept it strong. Macklemore joined her for their duet “Good Old Days” with Macklemore dressed like Kesha in wig and gown with rainbow trunks. A hilarious bit yet great sounding tune by both. Kesha’s voice was in top notch form!

Kesha’s album “Rainbow” dropped last August. The recorded version of “Woman” includes those great Dap-Kings on horns. Dolly Parton makes an appearance on “Old Flames” and of course her beautiful version of “Praying” written by Ryan Lewis. “Praying” and “Tik Tok” closed the show. Written by Kesha, “Tik Tok” was her debut single that shot to the top of the charts worldwide in 2009 and became the second most downloaded song to this day with over 6 million downloads. Kesha was a leader of the #MeToo movement before we knew it with her bravery in stepping forward about her experiences in the music industry. She took time before returning to the music scene, not even sure she would return. Lucky for us she has, she is a true music talent!